One sign of hope coming out of the huge student loan crisis lately is that parents are starting to save more for future college expenses. According to Fidelity in 2016, families saving for college has increased from 58% to 72% over the past 10 years. With the cost of college increasing steadily, the more savings we have, the better prepared we’ll all be as parents.

The cost of college is completely out of control. Every year, the cost to attend a 4-year university increases by twice the inflation rate. To put it in some more personal terms, by the time my 5-year old little girl goes to undergrad, we’ll need around $200,000 to make a 4-year in-state university a reality. Did I mention I have two kids?!